Friday, January 26, 2007

Some of the pride that National League teams flaunted three and four decades ago when they were beating up on their American League counterparts, especially in the All-Star Game, returned last October when the NL-champion St. Louis Cardinals defeated the AL-champion Detroit Tigers in a five-game World Series.

After what happened during past seasons, it could have been the NL's first big step back to respectability, if not superiority.

"I have a sense that things are turning around," former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, a career National Leaguer, said. "I've always felt that these streaks run in cycles. [The NL] won 11 [All-Star Games] in a row at one time, and I managed three of 'em.

"We had a good streak going, and now [the AL does]. But I think we have the players to turn it around."